Effects Of Yu Ping Feng San And Antibacterial Peptide On The Performance Of Broilers

This experiment was conducted to study the effects of Yu Ping Feng San(YPFS)(an ancient Chinese herbal decoction containing Astragali radix, Atractylodis macrocephalae rhizoma and Saposhnikoviae radix) and an antibacterial peptide(ABP)on the performance, intestinal mucosal morphology, intestinal barrier function and antioxidant capacity of broilers in order to explore the two premixes as an antibiotic alternative for broilers. 600 ten-d-old Mahuang broilers were randomly divided into 4 diet groups with 3 replicates of 50 birds each, and fed 4 experimental diets in each of the 3 growing periods(starter, 10~21 day old; grower, 21~42 day old; finisher, 42~56 day old) respectively. For each growing period, the 4 experimental diets were made as follows: the negative control diet(NC), the basal diet without any antibiotics; the YPFS diet, the basal supplemented with YPFS extract premix at 200 mg/kg; the ABP diet, the basal supplemented with ABP premix at 200 mg/kg; the YPFSP diet, the basal supplemented with YPFS extract premix and ABP premix at 200 mg/kg respectively. For each growing period, the average daily feed intake(ADFI), average daily body weight gain(ADG), ADFI/ ADG(F/G) ration and mortality were determined. At the end of the feeding experiment, 4 birds with their body weight similar to the average body weight of the group were slaughtered, then the serum of each bird was collected for determination of serum biochemical indexes, serum DPPH free radical scavenging ability(EC50), malondialdehyde(MDA) and D-Lactic acid(D-LAC). The duodenum, jejunum and ileum mucosal samples of each bird were also collected for determination of villus height(VH), crypt depth(CD) and VH/CD ratio respectively.The results showed that:1. For the starters, there were no significant differences in the ADF, ADG, F/G and mortality among groups(P > 0.05).2. For the growers, compared with the NC group, for the YPFS group, the ADF and mortality did not significantly differed(P > 0.05), the F/G was decreased by 21.14%(P < 0.05), and the ADG was increased by 22.32%(P < 0.05); for the ABP group, the mortality did not significantly differed(P > 0.05), the ADF and F/G was decreased by 10.05% and 24.92% respectively(P < 0.05), and the ADG increased by 19.71%(P < 0.05); for the YPFSP group, the mortality was significantly increased(P < 0.05), the ADF and F/G was decreased by 13.98% and 15.46% respectively(P < 0.05), and the ADG did not significantly differed(P > 0.05).3. For the finishers, compared with the NC group, for the YPFS group, the ADF and mortality did not significantly differed(P > 0.05), the F/G was decreased by 19.76%(P < 0.05), and the ADG was increased by 28.38%(P < 0.05); for the ABP group, the mortality did not significantly differed(P > 0.05), the ADF was increased by 6.00%(P < 0.05), the F/G was decreased by 18.24%(P < 0.05), and the ADG was increased by 29.668%(P < 0.05); for the YPFSP group, the mortality was significantly increased(P < 0.05), the ADFI, F/G and ADG did not significantly differed(P > 0.05).4. There were no significant differences in serum total protein, albumin, urea, globulin, albumin/ globulinratio, alanine transaminase activity and aspartate aminotransferase activity among groups(P > 0.05).5. There was no significant difference in serum EC50 among groups(P > 0.05); the serum MDA of YPFS or ABP was significantly lower than that of the NC or YPFSP(P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference in the serum MDA between YPFS and ABP or between NC and YPFSP(P > 0.05).6. For duodenum and ileum, there were no significant differences in VH, CD and VH/CD(P > 0.05); for jejunum, there were no significant differences in CD and VH/CD (P > 0.05), but the VH was significantly lower than those of other 3 groups(P < 0.05).7. There was no significant difference in serum D-LAC between YPFS and ABP or between NC and YPFSP group(P > 0.05), but the serum D-LAC of YPFS or ABP was significantly lower than that of NC or YPFSP group(P < 0.05).Conclusion: The supplementation of YPFS and ABP had no adverse effects on the mortality of broilers, but improved antioxidant capacity, intestinal mucosal morphology, increased feed conversion ratio, promoted the growth of broilers. However, without adverse effects on intestinal mucosal morphology and barrier function, the supplementation of YPFS plus ABP increased mortality of broilers, decreased feed intake and feed conversion ratio, reduced growth rate of broilers. This two kinds of additives do not have synergy.